Sony withdrawing from PDA market

Sony has announced it will stop making personal digital assistants for Japan in July, completing its withdrawal from a market hit by multi-functional cellphones and casting a shadow over the tools' growth potential.

The New York Times/Reuters report (23 Feb.) that the move was widely expected after the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said last year it would stop selling new handheld digital assistants outside Japan, striking a blow to PalmSource, whose software powers the devices.

A Sony spokesman tgold the NYT that the PDA market is being encroached by cellphones and other mobile devices that can offer similar functions, making it difficult for PDAs to maintain their position in the market.

Sony was the largest PDA maker in the domestic market in 2003 with a 32.1 percent share by unit shipments, followed by Sharp's 19.5 percent and Casio's 16.4 percent, according to research firm Gartner.

The NYT says the decision is the latest in a series of steps by Sony to focus resources on core businesses.

The company said in December it might quit the plasma television business and focus its efforts in the flat-screen TV market on liquid crystal display and rear-projection models, areas where it has a technological edge.

Sony said on its web site that the PDA decision did not change the fact that it considered the mobile terminal business as one of its growth pillars.

The paper also reports that Sony in December launched the PlayStation Portable handheld game console, which can also play movies and music, in Japan. According to the NYT.,the machine poses a serious threat to Nintendo, which had dominated the portable game market.

Chinese chip makers threaten Asian rivals

China is likely to remain the world's fastest growing semiconductor market over the next 3 to 5 years, with chip demand expected to grow 14 percent to US$53.5 billion this year, and expand another 7.1 percent to US$57.3 billion in 2006.

The New York Times/Reuters report (22 Feb.) that small Southeast Asian players like unlisted 1st Silicon and Silterra Malaysia are struggling to gain market share in an industry facing cut-throat competition, especially with the mushrooming of aggressive Chinese upstarts like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC).

1st Silicon, majority-owned by the investment arm of east Malaysian Sarawak state, the Sarawak Economic Development Corp., has been loss-making since it started production in early 2001.

In contrast, says the NYT., SMIC, founded in 2000, earned its first net profit in the fourth quarter of 2003 and has been climbing the industry's rankings since. It overtook Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in the December quarter to become the world's third-largest contract chip maker by sales.

1st Silicon and Silterra ranked 13th and 14th in 2003, according to IDC, with market shares of just 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent.

The paper reports that analysts have said Chinese chip players pose a mounting threat to Southeast Asia's semiconductor industry.

AMD bringing out dual-core desktop chip

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is expected show off a dual-core processor for desktops at its headquarters today.

The New York Times says (23 Feb.) that the chip, code-named Toledo, will feature two separate Athlon 64 processing cores on the same piece of silicon, and according to AMD will start appearing in PCs in the second half of 2005.

The paper says that AMD says that putting two cores on a chip will allow a computer to perform two tasks at once, or run specially tweaked applications faster. Windows XP Professional will be the operating system of choice for many dual-core desktops as it is already threaded to run two processors.

The chip will come in the same package and fit in the same PCs as current single-core Athlons, according to AMD.

The paper says AMD and rival Intel will both start coming out with dual-core chips this year and each can claim to be ahead of the other in different ways. Intel's first dual core chip for desktops, code-named Smithfield, will come out in the second quarter, ahead of Toledo.

AMD, however, will come out with a dual-core version of its Opteron chip for servers in the middle of the year. Intel won't have a dual-core Xeon until 2006, although it will release a dual-core Itanium in the second quarter. IBM has been selling a dual-core chip for servers, The Power4, for a few years.

The NYT says that in the desktop market, Intel will come out with a dual core-chip for high-end PCs this year that will also sport HyperThreading, which effectively will allow the chip to mimic, to a certain degree, a four-processor system. AMD says it won't likely do so until 2006,because most games aren't multithreaded and therefore can't effectively take advantage of two cores.

Lawsuit claim: HP printer cartridges die before use

A woman in the US state of Georgia has sued Hewlett-Packard , claiming the ink cartridges for their printers are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date, in some cases rendering them useless before they are even installed in a printer.

The New York Times reports (22 Feb.) that the suit filed in Santa Clara Superior Court in northern California seeks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased an HP inkjet printer since February 2001. HP is the world's No. 1 computer printer maker.

An HP spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

HP ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change. But the suit claims those chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty.

The suit said the smart chip is dually engineered to prematurely register ink depletion and to render a cartridge unusable through the use of a built-in expiration date that is not revealed to the consumer.

Finnish Study: mobile handset radiation within limits

A Finnish survey of some of the world's most popular mobile phones found the amount of radiation they emit is well below agreed limits and largely in line with data published by manufacturers.

The New York Times/Reuters report that the annual survey by Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) covered 16 new models made by top handset makers including Finland's Nokia, Motorola of the United States and South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

It follows the first study of 12 models done in 2003.

The paper says that mobile phones are essentially tiny radios that send and receive signals over airwaves, and all the tested models showed a specific absorption rate (SAR), which measures the amount of heat trapped by a phone user's head, well below the 2 watts per kilogram level agreed on in Europe.

At this level, head tissue does not warm significantly and no other harmful effects have been proved scientifically, STUK said. It said the SAR levels in all the 28 models tested so far ranged from 0.45 to 1.12 watts per kilogram.

The NYT says that some health advocates are concerned that mobile phone use can lead to problems ranging from headaches to tumors, but various studies on the health effects of cellphone usage have proved inconclusive.

Britain's National Radiological Protection Board, an independent advisory group, said in January mobile phone users -- especially children -- should take care, although no hard evidence exists to show mobile phones damage health.

STUK said in a statement that some of its studies have indicated that microwave radiation from mobile phones may cause small changes in how cells operate, but the findings were insufficient for concluding what effects of this radiation had on health.

The NYT reports that STUK will start testing third-generation UMTS-standard mobile phones during 2005, focusing on the most popular models. Other phones in the current study were made by Sony Ericsson and Siemens.

Apple founder urges company: drop lawsuits

Steve Wozniak has reportedly urged the company he co-founded, Apple Computer, to drop a lawsuit against a beta tester who leaked a version of the company's Tiger operating system, and he says he'll contribute to the defendant's legal fund.

The Register reports (23 Feb.) that Wozniak said:"I wish that Apple could find some way to drop the matter. In my opinion, more than appropriate punishment has already been dealt out'¦ I will personally donate US$1,000 to the Canadian student's defense."
The 23-year old student Vivek Sambhara is one of three named individuals and 25 "John Does" sued by Apple for making a pre-release of Tiger (Build 8A294) available via BitTorrent. Few dispute that Sambhara erred by breaching his NDA, but Apple's lawsuit seeks "exemplary damages" that would ruin the defendants.

The Register says that Apple is also suing a number of online publications in an attempt to trace the identity of leakers. In the run up to MacWorld Expo last month, one-man site ThinkSecret published details of Apple's sub-$500 headless Mac, and its founder Nick Ciarelli, a 19-year old Harvard student, found himself on the end of a John Doe lawsuit demanding he reveal his sources.

According to The Register, it followed earlier litigation filed in December against two sites - O'Grady's Power Page and AppleInsider - and an ISP, over the publishing of information about a forthcoming Apple audio product 'Aurora'.

Alcatel, Microsoft to develop TV services

Alcatel, the French maker of telecommunications gear, and Microsoft have just announced that they will jointly develop internet-based TV services for telephone companies.

In November, Microsoft announced it would provide TV technology to SBC Communications.

The New York Times/Reuters report (22 Feb.) that Microsoft says it is committed to integrate the current Alcatel video solutions with Microsoft TV IPTV Edition, resulting in what Alcatel claims will be a market-leading integrated offering.

The paper says telecom operators around the world are keen to exploit high-speed internet connections to also offer TV, and in Europe, several companies, including Telefonica SA and Deutsche Telekom , have launched such services.

US court debates anti - piracy tv technology

A US appeals panel on has challenged new federal rules requiring certain video devices to have technology to prevent copying digital television programs and distributing them over the internet.

A US Circuit Judge told the Federal Communications Commission it ``crossed the line'' requiring the new anti-piracy technology in next-generation television devices. But another appeals judge on the panel questioned whether consumers can challenge the FCC's rules in the courtroom.

The New York Times/AP report (22 Feb.) that the technology, known as the broadcast flag, will be required after July 1 for televisions equipped to receive new digital signals, many personal computers and VCR-type recording devices. It would permit entertainment companies to designate, or flag, programs to prevent viewers from copying shows or distributing them over the Internet.

The former chief judge of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, questioned the FCC's authority to impose regulations affecting television broadcasts after such programs are beamed into households.

The NYT reports that consumers groups, including library associations, have contested the FCC requirements, asserting that the rules will drive up prices of digital television devices and prevent consumers from recording programs in ways permitted under copyright laws.

A lawyer for the consumers groups argued that the broadcast flag could preclude libraries from copying television programs for educational or teaching purposes.

If the appeals panel decides that the consumers groups can't contest the FCC requirements, it would dismiss the case regardless of any concerns about the anti-piracy technology. A decision by the court could happen within months, the paper reports.

Nokia denies Firefox rumours

Nokia has denied reports that it is to migrate 55,000 desktops from Internet Explorer to the Firefox browser.

The Register reports (23 Feb.) that last year, the Finnish handset-maker invested money in the Mozilla Foundation, maker of Firefox, to fund the development of a phone-based browser. The friendly relationship between the two organisations lent some credence to the rumours of a switch.

A spokeswoman told The Register that : it was just a misunderstanding, Nokia had no deal with Firefox and there was no transition in progress." Further,the company had no plans to make any such change in the future.

The Register says the denial comes just a week after the phone maker announced a deal with Microsoft to sell phones with the company's Windows Media 10 music player installed. Nokia and Microsoft have historically been rivals, with each trying to grab a share of the other's market, observes The Register.

Beijing backs Windows

In China, the Beijing council has made a substantial purchase of Microsoft software, despite deciding late last year that it would buy products from local developers.

The Register reports (23 Feb.) that the original £3.5m contract with Microsoft was so heavily criticised that the council cancelled it. New procurement rules were drawn up to encourage government bodies to buy locally produced software. Domestic software was defined as anything which was at least 50 per cent developed in China. Government departments would need special permission to purchase non-domestic software.

But, The Register reports that the council has reversed this policy and bought Office and Windows products. A municipal official told the Financial Times the council had bought more Microsoft software than homegrown code. The same source told the paper that the council was forced to buy the software so that it could comply with a deadline, set by central government, to stop using pirated products.

EDS to close US, Europe call centres - shifting work to India

Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which manages computer systems for other companies, will close 21 call centres in the United States and Europe by the end of 2006 and shift some of the work to India to cut costs,the company has announced.

The Register reports (23 Feb.) that EDS has said that the company would close 17 of 42 US data centres and four of 12 in Europe that manage software applications for clients. The company operates three centres in India, where salaries for software engineers are much lower.

According to The Register, EDS has said that about 30,000 of the company's 120,000 employees work on software applications, 27 percent of them in India and other "offshore" locations, and that percentage will grow to about one-third.

EDS executives made the disclosures as they spoke to securities analysts in New York, and stuck to previous forecasts for revenue and profits.

The Register say the company cut US$1 billion in spending last year and plans to do the same this year and next, reducing its costs 20 percent when it is done. The biggest chunk, about 40 percent, will be in labor costs, according to EDS.

Novell's modest Q1. gains

Novell had a pretty lackluster first quarter if you ignore a stunning US$448m one-time gain from settling an antitrust suit with Microsoft, says The Register in a 23 February report.

The software maker reported revenue of US$290m for the period, which compares to revenue of US$267m in the same quarter last year. Favorable currency exchange rates gave Novell a US$10m boost in this year's first quarter, the Register further reports.

"Novell made steady progress on executing its strategy this quarter. We still have work ahead of us as we continue to reposition the company in our growth markets," said Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell.

The company reported that it earned US$392m or 90 cents a share during the first quarter. This total compares to US$10m or 3 cents per share earned one year earlier. But excluding unusual gains and charges, Novell would have earned just US$10m in its most recent quarter, leaving it flat versus last year.

The Register says Novell's Linux business remains small. Its SuSE unit brought in US$15m in revenue during the first quarter, including US$7m worth of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server sales.

IBM douses Xeon servers with Hurricane

IBM has spent years talking up its homemade chipsets for Xeon servers and isn't pulling back on the self-promotion now that its third-generation product is set to roll out the door, according to a report in The Register (22 Feb.).

The Hurricane chipset is IBM's answer for 64-bit, dual-core Xeons and related operating systems, says The Register, and it will serve as the foundation for four- to 64-processor servers rolled out over the coming year. IBM says it has put US$100m into the new chipset, which is the basis for the new X3 server architecture, and believes the product makes its gear superior to that from HP and Dell.

IBM told The Register that the new xSeries product family based on X3 draws from the company's mainframe expertise and, it claimed, provided unprecedented benefits for customers seeking the most sophisticated capabilities and performance from their software applications.

IBM said it has worked closely with Microsoft and Linux makers Red Hat and Novell to tweak Hurricane for their 64-bit operating systems, The Register reports.

AA in UK goes with IBM

In the UK, the Automobile Association has chosen IBM to provide it with IT services.
The Register reports (23 Feb.) that the AA was spun off from parent company Centrica in July last year, andas part of the deal the AA has to provide its own IT services by September 2005 where they were previously provided centrally by Centrica.

The association told the Register that the organisation went to fifteen suppliers and then picked a short list of three: HP, Fujitsu and IBM. All three were good, said the AA, but IBM won on the quality of its people, on service and on price.

ChoicePoint rescreening 17,000 customers

US data warehousing company, company ChoicePoint, under fire for being duped into allowing criminals to access its massive database of personal information, has said that consumers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and three US territories may have been affected by the breach of the company's credentialing process.

The Register reports (22 Feb.) that the company also announced plans to rescreen 17,000 business customers to make sure they are legitimate.

The company said it has hired a retired Secret Service agent to help revamp its verification process. It also has paid for a one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service for each of the 144,778 people that may have been affected by the breach.

The Register reports that the company said the smallest number of possible victims -- two -- was in the US Virgin Islands, while the largest number -- 34,114 -- was in California. It released a state-by-state breakdown late Monday. People in Puerto Rico and Guam also may have been affected.

Formed in 1997 as a spinoff of credit reporting agency Equifax, ChoicePoint has 19 billion public records in its database at its suburban Atlanta headquarters, including motor vehicle registrations, license and deed transfers, military records, names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

The Register says that last week, attorneys general in 38 US states demanded ChoicePoint inform all affected consumers that they might vulnerable to identity theft amid concerns the company was foot-dragging.

Liquidnet valued at $US1.8 billion

In the US, Liquidnet, a company which some money managers call " Napster for stocks", has just completed a financing deal that values the privately held company at US$1.8 billion, according to those close to the transaction.

Like Napster, which shook up the music industry with its file-sharing network, Liquidnet has pioneered an electronic marketplace that allows institutional investors to trade large blocks of stock anonymously.

The New York Times says (23 Feb.) that by comparison to Liquidnet's value of US$1.8 billion, the publicly traded electronic network leader, Archipelago, has a market value of US$873 million, while Nasdaq has a value of about US$794 million, and the New York Stock Exchange, a nonprofit organisation that has said it will explore the possibility of a public offering, is worth about US$1.3 billion based on the price of its membership seats.

Liquidnet told the media that the institutional equities business has been a money-losing business for almost five years, and the trend has been toward electronic.

The NYT says Liquidnet can command such a large price tag because it allows some 350 institutions to trade huge blocks - on average 40,000 shares, more than 80 times the size of an average order on the New York Stock Exchange - rather than forcing those institutions to cut up and parcel out the blocks into small shares, trying to trade the shares quietly so that the market does not move against the trade.

Liquidnet is selective about its client base, meaning that the firms that trade on it can be assured that they are not being outmaneuvered by hedge funds looking to make a quick buck, says the paper.

The NYT says Liquidnet sold a minority stake in the company late last week for US$250 million to Summit Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures, allowing some of the firm's early backers to cash out a portion of their initial investment.

However, despite the interest and growth in Liquidnet, the company is still a bit player in the trading world, according to the NYT - in the fourth quarter, its average daily volume rose to 23 million shares a day, a 77 percent increase over the period a year earlier, but small compared with the 1.5 billion shares traded each day at the New York Stock Exchange.